Maria Caruso , LPC

Maria Caruso is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with two decades of clinical experience helping individuals, couples, families, and groups navigate difficult life chapters. She combines practical clinical training with a compassionate presence to support clients through grief, relationship challenges, career transitions, trauma, and a wide range of emotional concerns.

Her background includes work with cancer patients and their families during intense medical and end-of-life periods, accompanying people through loss and the adjustments that follow. She has also provided counseling in corporate environments, guiding clients through workplace change and other life transitions. Maria works with both adults and children in individual and family settings, tailoring her approach to each personâs needs and circumstances.

Maria uses an integrative, multimodal approach that draws on client-centered principles, cognitive-behavioral techniques, narrative and psychodynamic ideas, and solution-focused strategies. She often incorporates practical tools such as contracting, journaling, and various forms of art-based expression to help clients explore issues that may be difficult to name or access verbally. As an LPC - a licensed mental health professional - she emphasizes a collaborative therapeutic partnership in which therapist and client work together toward clear, agreed-upon goals. Her mission is to offer hope, support, and practical knowledge to help people find meaning and move forward from whatever stage of life they are facing.

Approach-Focused Online Therapy and Flexible Access

Maria Caruso draws from client-centered therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy to guide online work. Client-centered therapy emphasizes empathy, active listening, and building a respectful therapeutic relationship so clients can explore values, relationships, and personal growth at their own pace. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful patterns in thinking and behavior and teaching practical skills to reduce anxiety, manage depression, and cope with stress and addictive behaviors. Narrative therapy is also used to help clients reframe life stories and separate problems from identity, which can be especially helpful for those wrestling with grief, trauma, or major life changes.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Maria collaborates with each person to determine which techniques best match their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting methods over time so the work remains relevant and effective. This collaborative stance helps clients feel involved in shaping their care.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, allowing people to fit sessions into busy schedules and to continue care from different locations. These options increase accessibility for those managing caregiving responsibilities, work demands, physical limitations, or geographic distance, while preserving the focus on therapeutic connection and meaningful progress with licensed professionals.